Your Result: The Imposter
The Imposter is a thoughtful, capable leader who holds herself to high internal standards.
You are experienced, respected, and trusted by those around you. You’ve earned your roles through competence and commitment, and others often see you as calm, considered, and professional.
Yet beneath that external confidence, the Imposter pattern can create a quieter internal narrative: a sense that your success may be circumstantial, that you’ve been “fortunate” rather than genuinely capable, or that others may have overestimated you.
Even with years of experience, responsibility, and results, you may find yourself questioning whether you truly deserve the recognition you receive.
What This Pattern Looks Like at a Leadership Crossroads
At this stage of leadership, the Imposter pattern often shows up as:
- Second-guessing decisions, even when you have strong judgement
- Delaying action until everything feels certain
- Seeking reassurance or validation before backing your own view
- Minimising your contribution or attributing success to luck or timing
- Feeling pressure to perform confidence rather than trusting it
On the outside, you appear composed and credible.
On the inside, leadership can feel like something you must continually justify.
This pattern doesn’t mean you lack confidence.
It means your inner authority hasn’t yet caught up with your external role.
Why This Pattern Helped You Succeed
Earlier in your life and career, the Imposter pattern likely worked in your favour.
Questioning yourself helped you:
- Prepare thoroughly
- Seek feedback and refine your thinking
- Avoid complacency
- Build credibility through diligence and care
In many professional environments (particularly high-stakes or intellectually demanding ones like government!), this self-scrutiny is rewarded. It keeps standards high and errors low.
Your caution wasn’t weakness.
It was an adaptation that supported growth.
Why This Pattern Becomes Limiting Now
As you move into more senior leadership roles, the context changes.
At this level:
- You are expected to lead from judgement, not justification
- Influence matters more than certainty
- Authority is embodied, not proven
But the Imposter pattern can struggle to register this shift.
Instead, it can keep you:
- Holding back ideas until they feel “perfect”
- Deferring to louder or more confident voices
- Over-preparing for decisions you’re already equipped to make
- Quietly questioning whether you truly belong at the table
Over time, this can limit your influence. Not because you lack capability, but because you hesitate to fully inhabit it.
This isn’t a confidence problem.
And it’s not a failure of self-belief.
It’s a sign that your leadership identity is evolving.
The Invitation: From Self-Doubt to Inner Authority
The opportunity here isn’t to “be more confident.”
It’s to trust your lived wisdom.
At this leadership crossroads, the work is about integrating experience with authority and allowing your judgement to carry weight without needing constant validation.
When the Imposter pattern softens:
- Decisions feel steadier and less emotionally loaded
- Your voice carries clarity rather than qualification
- You speak from knowing, not proving
- Confidence becomes embodied rather than performed
You don’t lose discernment.
You gain self-trust.
The Leadership Gift Beneath the Imposter
Beneath the Imposter pattern lies a profound leadership strength.
You are here to lead with:
- Thoughtfulness rather than self-doubt
- Depth rather than bravado
- Authority grounded in experience, not ego
When you trust your inner authority, your leadership becomes calm, credible, and quietly influential. The kind others naturally listen to.
Patterns like the Imposter rarely shift through insight alone. They are often rooted in long-standing beliefs about worth, credibility, and belonging, and they require space, reflection, and support to evolve.
Leadership Reimagined™ has been created for senior women leaders navigating this kind of leadership crossroads. Not to make them “more confident,” but to help them fully inhabit the authority they’ve already earned.
If this result resonates, great! You’ll be introduced to this work over the coming days.
Before you go, your Primary Saboteur is only one piece of the puzzle. There are 5 key Success Saboteur Archetypes™ stopping you from the success, wealth, impact and freedom you are destined for. Knowing and working on all 5 is essential to upleveling your beliefs, business and bank account!
Here is a short breakdown of the other 4 Success Saboteur Archetypes blocking you (remember you have all 5 in you!)
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